Top Ten Myths About Tarot Cards and Tarot Reading

            
 Myth 6 - "You need to have some psychic ability to
Myth 1 - "Tarot cards can predict the future"read the Tarot"
            Predicting the future is not difficult we              Most people can learn to read the
can all do it. If for example you know someone who isTarot to a lesser or greater extent. No psychic
consistently spending more than they earn and payingpowers are necessary because all the wisdom is in
for it by building up a credit card debt then it's not hardthe cards and the meanings which have been
to predict where that one is heading. Or if you knowdeveloped over the years. In fact if one was psychic
someone who is expecting a baby you may, based onwhy would you need to use the Tarot? Tarot works
experience, accurately predict that they will havebest when the reader drops their preconceptions and
many months of sleep deprivation and tiredness aheadfeelings about a problem and just lets the cards do the
of them. The Tarot does little more than this. It hastalking.
centuries of human experience distilled into a simple 
philosophy and meaning for each card. Another way           
to look at it is to say the Tarot doesn't make preciseMyth 7 - "Nobody should ever handle your Tarot deck"
predictions of the future it merely allows us glimpses at              There are some practitioners that
some of the likely possibilities.wont let anyone else touch their Tarot cards. Even
 when they carry out a reading they wont allow the
         questioner to shuffle the deck for themselves. In my
Myth 2 - "The Tarot come from Ancient Egypt"experience this precious attitude comes from those
              The earliest that Tarot can be datedwho want to build up themselves and their deck to be
back to is 16th century Italy. There is no evidence ofsomething special. A control thing if you like. This is
Tarot existing anywhere else in the world prior to this.against the spirit of Tarot which promotes open
Some people claim the cards derive from India orenquiry and sharing of understanding. Allowing clients to
China but this is also baseless speculation.shuffle the cards helps them to feel a part of the
 process and focus on the problem at hand.
            
Myth 3 - "Receiving the Death card means someone           
is about to die"Myth 8 "The Tarot can be used to cast spells or
              Unlikely. The whole point of theeffect other people"
symbolism of the cards is that they represent deeper              It is sometimes thought that the
life truths. To take any of the cards literally would be toTarot can be used to make things happen rather than
miss out on a layers of meaning and insight. In thepredict them. To influence someone's life from afar, for
case of the Death card, to the medieval mind Deathgood or evil. This is a long way from what the cards
represented an inevitable change and often a passingare actually about, which is simply gaining
to a better place. The card represents change andunderstanding. There is no reason to believe that the
evolution. One can't, however, rule out the possibility ofTarot has any power other than that of insight. One of
this occasionally actually signifying a death.the frequent messages that comes out of Tarot
 readings is actually how little ability we sometimes
           have to influence our own lives let alone someone
Myth 4 - "Reading Tarot is dabbling in the occult"else's. Put in a nutshell the Tarot would probably say
              There are many claims that the'get your own act together before you try to change
Tarot have Pagan, witchcraft or shamanic roots andothers'.
some have even implicated the Tarot in devil worship 
and satanic rites. Another frequent claim is that the           
Tarot derives from ancient religions now forgotten.Myth 9 - "Different decks give different readings"
None of this is true. Tarot , as has already been said,              This is slightly subjective but in my
originated in medieval Italy and the predominant culturalexperience, no. Whatever the deck the meanings
backdrop of that time was christian. The symbolism ofderived over four centuries remain the same. Different
the cards is either christian or jewish - new testamentpeople will however relate more warmly to some
or old. The word 'occult' merely means 'hidden' so indecks rather than others and the images that the client
that sense one could say taking a reading is dealingis most comfortable with will create the best
with the occult because one is trying to reveal what isatmosphere for a reading. A cynical person might
hidden.suspect this myth is propagated by the deck
 manufacturers.
            
Myth 5 - "Reading your own cards will bring           
misfortune"Myth 10 - "It is dangerous to have too many Tarot
              This is one which professionalreadings"
readers and those experienced with the cards know              There is a belief that people who
not to be true but which often gets repeated. It maybecome obsessed with Tarot and keep taking one
have arisen from the fact that Tarot card readers willreading after another bring themselves bad luck or
avoid reading their own cards. Not because it iseven risk pushing themselves over the edge. This
unlucky but simply because it is not effective. A goodmaybe true in as much as seeking constant advice
Tarot reading requires three parties; the questioner, thecan be a sign of some sort of impending crisis. Such
reader and the deck. The reader tries to remainpeople may also have been close to the edge
objective and reports to the questioner what the cardsanyway. The main thing is that too much advice is bad
are saying without any bias or desire to hear afor anyone and only leads to confusion.
particular message. Playing this role for your own 
reading is difficult if not impossible.For more information about Tarot cards and their
 meanings visit or try our free online Tarot card reading.